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Ford 3G termination class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Michael Scriber filed a class action lawsuit against Ford Motor Co.
- Why: Scriber claims Ford sold vehicles manufactured with now-obsolete 3G telematics equipment.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.
Ford Motor Co. sold vehicles manufactured with 3G telematics equipment that is now obsolete due to AT&T phasing out 3G technology in 2022, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Michael Scriber claims Ford and Lincoln vehicles equipped with the obsolete telematics equipment cannot use internet-enabled features, including roadside emergency safety features.
Scriber argues Ford, which contracted with AT&T to provide service for its 3G modems, failed to disclose in warranty manuals that the company installed “an inferior 3G modem.”
“The 3G modem was not disclosed by Ford’s authorized dealership, on the vehicle’s window sticker, or elsewhere at the time Plaintiff purchased the vehicle,” the class action states.
Ford class action claims automaker continued to produce vehicles with 3G modems following shutdown announcement
Ford continued to manufacture vehicles with 3G modems after AT&T announced in February 2019 it planned to “sunset their 3G wireless network in order to make way for its deployment of its 5G network,” the Ford class action alleges.
“Despite the inevitability of AT&T’s decommissioning of its 3G network, and the public announcement of the timetable in February 2019, Ford continued to manufacture the Class Vehicles with a 3G modem,” the Ford class action states.
Scriber claims Ford is guilty of breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty of merchantability and fraudulent omission and in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act.
He demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of actual, compensatory and consequential damages for themselves and all class members.
Scriber wants to represent a nationwide class and California subclass of consumers who purchased or leased a Ford or Lincoln vehicle equipped with now-obsolete telematics equipment.
Consumers filed similar class action lawsuits against Volkswagen, BMW and Porsche last month over claims related to the automakers’ vehicles containing telematics systems affected by the phase-out of 3G networks.
Has the phase-out of 3G affected your vehicle? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Tina Wolfson, Robert R. Ahdoot, Christopher Stiner and Deborah De Villa of Ahdoot & Wolfson, P.C.
The Ford 3G termination class action lawsuit is Scriber v. Ford Motor Co., Case No. 3:22-cv-01716, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
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8 thoughts onFord class action alleges 3G termination disables internet-enabled features
I have two Lincoln Reserve trim vehicles. Both are 2017. I decided for that trim due to the “For Life” online features which I cannot use anymore. I even took the vehicle while in warranty for a modem problem, they installed a new modem but, they placed a 3g again (this was just before4g came into place). IF they knew about the transition, why they did not install a 4G on my vehicle, or even propose that option.
I have a ’16 Energi. Ford only notified me of the sunset THREE weeks before it shutdown, and then ONLY via a message inside the app. Despite YEARS of advance notice.
Their solution is to pay for an LTE modem, and migrate to FordPass, but the new system doesn’t support rather important features of the Energi such as GoTimes and charge scheduling. I’ve found documents dating back to 2014 from ATT announcing the expected sunset of 3g, yet Ford kept installing these though 2020!
I just purchased a 2019 Ford Fusion energi with 14000 miles. I was told it came with FordPass but now am told by ford my modem is outdated and I will need to pay for an upgrade to 4g. The ford dealer clearly did not know of the problem but will not do the upgrade.
I have a 2016 and 2017 Ford cmax energi. I tried four times to get dealer to do the 2017 and it appears they are reluctance to do so. I gave up for now.
I suffer from same thing. Just gotmyself a 2020 fusion energi. I checked everything before. Put my vin in ford website and site says vehicle can connect. Window sticker says it can use fordpass.now I can’t activate vehicle and they told me modem can cost $900 cad !
I paid for car that has connection, now I need to pay $900 for which features?
Just purchased a 2019 Ford Fusion Energi Titanium, the used dealer didn’t disclose that the modem was not functional. My local for dealer quoted $1100 minimum for the part and 3hrs of labor with no guarantee that would be the final price because swapping the modems was a buggy process an could take additional technician hours to complete the installation.
I understand the progression of technology but if they aren’t replacing the modems they could at least add the advanced battery charging and remote start customization functionality to the internal Ford Sync system that is currently limited to simple scheduling.
My main issue is that the app provides advanced charging customization functionality including only having it charge to 90% vs 100% since charging the battery to 100% full will damage/shorten the life of the battery. Without the apps functionality the HV battery life will be shortened and the resale value of my vehicle is degraded by both the lack of the modem/app capability as well as a battery worn out before its time.
Bought a used 2019 Fusion Energy in Feb of 22 with 16K miles on it and lost connectivity 5 weeks after purchase. Was told by Ford service department they would fix and then they said no and wanted me to pay $700 for a 4G system.
I have 3 ford/lincoln vehicles and I have noticed issues with my ford escape and my F150.